Three platforms. One choice. Best fit wins.
Discourse, Circle, and Mighty Networks each solve a different problem. We weigh your niche, member volume, and monetisation model — then pick the one that wins for you.
Platforms
Three
Setup
End to end
Lock-in
None
The Lineup
Three platforms
Comparing now
Platform · 01
01Discourse
For deep, long-form discussion communities.
Discourse is built for high-signal, long-form discussion. We provision a hosted instance, design category structure, configure trust levels, and brand the experience to feel like your product.
Best for
Open-source, dev-tool, and product communities
Pricing
Self-hosted or hosted from $50/mo
- Best-in-class threading
- Powerful trust-level system
- Excellent search
- Open-source
Platform · 02
02Circle.so
For premium, monetized creator communities.
Circle is the cleanest path to a premium, paid community. We set up spaces, tiered memberships through Stripe, gamification, and onboarding flows.
Best for
Creators, coaches, and paid masterminds
Pricing
From $39/mo (Basic) to custom
- Native paid memberships
- Rich member profiles
- Live events + chat
- Polished mobile app
Platform · 03
03Mighty Networks
For community + courses + events under one roof.
Mighty Networks shines when you need community + courses + events on native mobile apps. We configure the Host space, build member journeys, seed content, and ship monetization.
Best for
Course creators and educators with live events
Pricing
From $49/mo (Community) to custom
- Native iOS + Android apps
- Built-in courses & live events
- Apple Pay + Google Pay
- Member journeys
Where each platform shines — and where it doesn't.
A side-by-side reading of strengths and gaps, capability by capability. The final pick is decided with you on the discovery call.
Capability
Discourse
Circle
Mighty
Long-form threads
Paid memberships
Live events
Native mobile apps
Courses & lessons
Self-hosting option
Public discovery
Time to launch
Different platforms. Same operating package.
Six commitments hold no matter which platform we configure.
Brand-themed configuration
Subdomain, SSL, brand colours, and a category or space taxonomy tuned to your niche.
SSO ready out the gate
Google and Apple at minimum. Custom IdP supported. Session policy and recovery flow included.
Stripe paid memberships
Tiers, trials, and dunning configured on every platform that supports it.
Moderation playbook
Category-by-category rules, escalation matrix, and the 30-day moderator onboarding checklist.
Admin guide + Loom
A PDF of every setting we touched plus a recorded walkthrough for your team.
30-day support window
Direct chat with the build team for clarifying questions during the first month.
Talk to us before you commit to a platform.
A short discovery chat tells us the right answer faster than any comparison table.